The Clash of a Century
by firstacceptance
Summary: [Zuko/OC, AU] Iroh's new fire bending pupil was really starting to get on his nerves.


Being a Fire Lord wasn't as easy as his father made it out to be, which was probably due to the fact that said father was a crazy power-hungry murderer, a psychotic tyrant.

Despite the years spent to patch things up between the Fire Nation and the other nations, Zuko knew that there was still much to do in honor to restore the Fire Nation into its former glory. This put a lot of responsibility on the young Fire Lord's shoulders, to say the least.

And it definitely didn't help that his council and uncle had been badgering him for a wife for a while. After all, in hard times, the nation needed the comfort of a Fire Lady, not to mention the three years that had passed since Zuko ascended to the throne.

* * *

Zuko almost coughed on the congee he was drinking as he read the front page of the newspaper. He immediately lost his appetite and pushed his plate away, no longer wanting to eat the savoury congee in front of him. He fumed, smoke coming out of his nostrils, but tried to stay as calm as he could, remembering his uncle's breathing techniques. Unfortunately, the thought of the uncle just kindled an angry fire in him when he realised that the retired General and tea-maker, who was probably enjoying a morning stroll around the grounds, most likely played a part in this horrific scheme. However, the person pulling the strings must have been no other than his current breakfast companion: Iroh's new pupil, Mira.

Two months ago, Iroh had returned from Ba Sing Se. His tea shop had been destroyed by a group of firebenders who accused him of being a traitor to the Fire Nation. Although the group, who went by a very corny and obviously not well thought out name, 'Fire Fighters', was quickly subdued by some Earth Kingdom police officers and Iroh was offered a compensation from the Earth King himself, the retired General decided to return home. Home was where his 'son' was anyway. When Zuko received a letter from his uncle, the latter informing his nephew of his decision to return to the Fire Nation, the 19-year-old Fire Lord was ecstatic. He could never deny his love for his uncle.

About a week after Zuko received the letter, Iroh arrived at the Royal Palace on an ostrich horse with a scrawny and soft-looking boy sitting right behind him, followed by a large party of Fire Nation guards. That scrawny boy, Zuko later learned, was actually a 16-year-old girl born in a Fire nation colony who was a member of the group that attacked his shop. Apparently, the girl was the only reason his uncle was alive, for she had betrayed the 'Fire Fighters' and helped him fight back with her poor bending. At least 2 firebenders, one a great master and the other an amateur, fighting against a group, was better than an old retired general fighting alone.

The night of Iroh's return, at the feast that was held in honor of his uncle, Zuko had asked the girl what she would want as a reward for saving his uncle's life. He told the young fire bender that if it wasn't for her, his uncle wouldn't have been able to return home, and for that, both Iroh and Zuko were forever in her debt. Zuko had expected her to demand money; she didn't look too well off anyway, with her ratty clothes and short, dirty brown hair. However, Mira's request had definitely surprised both him and his uncle, though the latter was more than happy to agree. The young firebender, who admitted to her terrible skills, wished to train under the tutelage of the great and revered Dragon of the West. Of course, Zuko had to approve of it as well, because A) he had already agreed to give her anything her heart desired, and B) his uncle actually seemed pleased with the idea of going back to his days of training.

In the beginning, Zuko didn't mind the girl. He barely saw her due to the vastness of the palace and he rarely had the time to go all the way to the other end of he palace to watch his uncle train Mira anyway, due to his duties as the Fire Lord. However, a recent change in the living arrangements had altered that fact.

Zuko sighed loudly and chugged down gulps of hot tea as he recalled the incident that destroyed the East wing of the palace, the one where his uncle trained Mira and the latter resided for her duration as Iroh's student. Ironically, the place was destroyed by a fire during a training incident in which reportedly, Mira had tried to generate lightning, only to accidentally set one of the trees in the garden on fire. The flames had quickly spread over several trees in that area, as well as nearly burning down the nearby building that was entirely made of teak.

Starting from that day, the girl had to start living near his uncle's and his own quarters, while the East wing was going under repairs, meaning Zuko and Mira often bumped into each other throughout the days. And while Zuko normally ate breakfast with his uncle, a new face had joined their table. After spending much time with Mira, unfortunately, Zuko quickly learned who was really behind the tattered clothes and bony figure: a mischievous, shrewd of a girl who never took things seriously. She was the most bizarre girl Zuko had ever met, for her actions, behaviors, and the things she say contradict each other so much that Zuko sometimes wonder whether she's an ordinary fire bender from the colonies, a country bumpkin, or the daughter of a courtier. And for some strange and inexplicable reason, her uncle had taken to her and so she was under his protection, and the girl seemed to know this as well.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zuko folded the newspaper he had been reading earlier–the one that caused him to choke–and placed it in front of her so that she could see what he was talking about.

 _Attention, citizens! The end of this month marks the three year anniversary of Fire Lord Zuko's ascension to the throne, and it is a tradition to celebrate it with a festival. But hold your ostrich-horses! Here at The Daily Scroll, we always get inside info, and our insider tells us that there will be an after party at midnight in which the Fire Lord will select his bride! Yes, that's right! Our very handsome, very young, and_ very _eligible Fire Lord is looking for a wife. It's a lucky time to be born for you young ladies of the royal court, because you are all invited to the ball. So you better mark your calendars and start making appointments with your tailors!_

The young girl answered with a mouth full of dumplings, and so, Zuko didn't catch a single word of her sentence.

He rolled his eyes, making her roll her own, and then quickly drink her tea to make the food go down. "What is the meaning of what?" She said innocently, though he knew she was anything but.

"Don't play dumb with me, Mira."

"I'm serious, _my lord_ ," she said in a mocking tone, and paused to sip her tea once more. Zuko waited for the girl to part her lips from the porcelain cup, barely holding back from flipping the table in frustration. She sighed in contentment–no wonder she quickly became close to his uncle–and peered into the cup.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Mira continued without even looking up from her was she doing? Observing the patterns of the tea leaves? _Crazy girl, and rude too,_ Zuko thought bitterly and glared at her.

"Please excuse me, O Honorable Fire Lord. I will see you in the gardens, as I'm sure you will be spying on my training again. Good day." The girl stood up to curtsy in a mocking manner, causing her fall hair to fall in front of her, and before Zuko could get in another word, eager to refute her statement, she promptly through the large wooden doors.

A serving girl tittered and Zuko glared at her, then removed his own napkin from his lap and angrily followed Mira out the vast dining hall, his Fire Lord robes billowing behind him dramatically.

No girl had ever challenged him so boldly before, and Zuko wasn't sure whether to blame the walking source of frustration for his gradually decreasing sleeping hours, or to appreciate the novelty. But first, Zuko had to get to the bottom of this mess.

* * *

Hello! This is my first fanfic, so it might seem a bit rough and awkward in the beginning, but I'll work on it.


End file.
